Whitecaps’ Barnes: ‘No reason to panic despite struggles’ – Sportsnet
At the end of a training session this week, the Vancouver Whitecaps gathered in a circle on the field at UBC. From afar, they had the look of a school group, seated obediently as their teacher—in this case, their coach, Carl Robinson—addressed them for a good 15 minutes.

Red Line Report: Who has the easiest schedule for the rest of the season? – MLS
It’s been a wild MLS season and after five and a half months of play, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. More importantly, every team is trying to get above the red line. FC Dallas, the Colorado Rapids and the LA Galaxy have set themselves apart at the top of the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings. At the bottom of the West, it appears there are five teams fighting for two spots, including all three Cascadia teams.

Pedro: Not deep or deep? – Soccer Shorts
Most of the talk this week within the Whitecaps camp has concerned the kind of intangible states of mind which ultimately add up to “grit”.

MLS Week 24 Preview: Cascadia, Atlantic Cups, more – Empire of Soccer
There is a weightiness to most of the games this weekend. More than one match could be a preview of what is to come in November. In others, results this weekend could determine who is there and who is not. Amidst it all, there are a pair of classic rivalry matches on tap for Sunday.

MLS Week 24: A Look Ahead – SBI
Week 24 in MLS features a couple of big rivalry matches with huge playoff implications. This weekend’s action is headlined by a Cascadia Cup clash between the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders. The Sounders have been heating up in recent weeks and could move to within two points of Portland in the Western Conference.

MLS Countdown: English stars ready for first MLS clash – Soccer America
Described as “imcompatible” and “ideal partners” and every shade of middle ground during their stints as England internationals,Frank Lampardand Steven Gerrard get their first MLS opportunity to renew club rivalries when New York City FC and the Galaxy battle Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

Match Preview: Philadelphia Union vs. Toronto FC – Toronto FC
The Reds are back on the road this weekend. On Saturday an important Eastern Conference clash between TFC and the Philadelphia Union goes down in Chester, PA. Here’s everything you need to know.

Seattle revival on the line vs. Portland; Bradley, Bedoya face off for first time – ESPN FC
A Cascadia Cup battle, with all the fraught emotion it brings, will give us the beginnings of an answer as to whether Seattle’s recent revival is legitimate. The Sounders have won two in a row and have gone three unbeaten while looking like a completely different team since the departure of Sigi Schmid and the addition of Nicolas Lodeiro.

CCL: Monterrey stunned by Panama’s Arabe Unido – Soccer America
Panama’s Arabe Unido stunned three-time champion Monterrey, 3-2, in the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. Of the nine MLS and Liga MX clubs entered in the group stage, the Rayados are the only team that has lost.

No 2016 Special Session – What Now for Minnesota United? – Fifty Five One
One step forward – one step back. A day after the St. Paul City Council passed crucial resolutions allowing Minnesota United to start work on their stadium at the bus barn site in St. Paul, the team was thrown a setback on Thursday. There will be no special session of the Minnesota State Legislature in 2016.

Women’s soccer crushed by Eagles, shut out Cardinals over weekend – Ubyssey
The women’s soccer team are the defending CIS championship team. But despite a fantastic ending to their 2015/16 season, they started their preseason in a disheartening fashion. The Thunderbirds fell 4-1 to the Eastern Washington Eagles at Cheney, Washington last weekend.

BC Soccer Assoc. Releases their 2015-2016 Year in Review – BCSA
After another successful year of soccer in British Columbia, BC Soccer Assoc. is pleased to release their 2015-2016 Year in Review. The creation of the BC Soccer Club Charter Program, delivery of a FIFA Live Your Goals Festival, along with the numerous Grassroots Festivals across the province and Coach Education highlight some of the major successes this past year.

BC Soccer Assoc. Delivery of Coach Mandate – BCSAIMPORTANT: If you are coaching in the ages U6-U12 you are required to complete the age appropriate course(s) even if you have a higher level of certification (ie. Soccer for Life, B pretest, C License, B License or A License). In order to enable our membership to deliver on the coaching mandate, BC Soccer Assoc. will be scheduling Learning Facilitator training sessions to assist organizations to have qualified individuals to deliver in-club coach certification courses to their coaches.

2016 BC Soccer Provincial Cup Photo Galleries – BC Soccer Web
Westhills Stadium & Goudy Park in Langford hosted the 2016 BC Soccer Adult Provincial Cup Finals. It was a thrilling weekend of soccer on Vancouver Island that saw seven champions crowned. Richmond FC & Surrey Pegasus qualified for the National Championships this Fall in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Both Coquitlam Metro-Ford Masters & Classics sides qualified for the Western Canadian Masters Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In all, it was a clean sweep for teams from the VMSL & MWSL. Monique Lamoureux & Bill Currie from BC Soccer Web were on location that weekend, capturing the all the action.

Free Physiotherapy Clinical Trial for Achilles Pain at UBC – UBC Centre for Hip Health & MobilityDo you have Achilles pain? Interested in free Physiotherapy? If yes, join our clinical trial to look at the effectiveness of intramuscular stimulation (IMS), a form of acupuncture therapy, in treating Achilles tendon pain.

The BC Soccer Web Guide to Empire Field – BC Soccer Web
Empire Fields and Plateau Sports Park is the lofty and formal name given to Vancouver’s newest addition to the soccer scene. Yet, anyone who’s ever kicked or carried both kinds of footballs around these parts knows the place by heart.

Send your Soccer News to BC Soccer Web! – BC Soccer Web
BC Soccer Web is the hub for soccer in British Columbia. We want to share your soccer news with the entire province, and you can help by letting us know! We want your match reports, club news, league standings, and info on upcoming tournaments and clinics. Whether you submit links to existing news on the web, or your own original writing, we want to share it with the soccer community in B.C.

Canada defeat Brazil to win back-to-back Bronze – FIFA
Canada won their second consecutive bronze medal at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament after a 2-1 victory over hosts Brazil at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo at Rio 2016.

Canadian women’s soccer team wins bronze at Rio 2016 – Sportsnet
Canada has a new Olympic hero in women’s soccer, and her name is Deanne Rose. Rose scored the opening goal and assisted on another in Sao Paulo on Friday, as Canada defeated Brazil 2-1 in the bronze medal game of the women’s soccer tournament at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The Toronto FC Pipeline: Academy To MLS – League1 Ontario
The pathway from Toronto FC Academy’s League1 Ontario side to their full fledged pro levels – such as USL Pro, and in some cases MLS first team – has been well defined in the past three seasons, with nine players having made the leap.

Local soccer talent on display in Halifax – Chronicle Herald
The Vancouver Whitecaps FC scouting staff is getting an early glimpse of Nova Scotia’s top soccer talent this week. As part of a partnership announced back in May, Soccer Nova Scotia is hosting its first Vancouver Whitecaps residency prospects identification camp at the BMO Soccer Centre in Halifax.

Erin McLeod: It’s time to Motivate a Nation! – themotivenation.ca
After building a successful e-commerce (www.peaudeloup.com) and a physical retail store in West Vancouver (CAPOSHIE) Women’s National Team Goalkeeper Erin McLeod has decided after a series of misfortunate events it’s time to branch out on her own with her new inspiration project, Motive Nation, launching to the public on July 1st, online at www.themotivenation.ca.

WFC2, USL & NASL NEWS

UNITED SOCCER LEAGUE

WFC2 vs. ARIZONA UTD. SC

SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2016, 3:00 PM

McLEOD ATHLETIC PARK, LANGLEY, BC

Road trip! WFC2 host Arizona Sunday afternoon in Langley – Whitecaps FC
Langley, here we come. This Sunday, August 21, Whitecaps FC 2 (WFC2) will play their first of three matches at McLeod Athletic Park to close out the 2016 United Soccer League regular season. The match will kick off at 3 p.m. PT against Frank Yallop’s Arizona United SC

USL Weekend Preview – Week 22 – USL
The top two teams in the Eastern Conference square off with the chance for either to clinch a place in the 2016 USL Playoffs, while six of the eight teams in the Western Conference playoff positions meet over the course of a 12-game slate of action this weekend to conclude Week 22 in the USL regular season.

NASL Fall Week 8: A Look Ahead – SBI
Three teams sit within two points of one another atop the Fall Standings, making each match vital as the NASL’s second phase nears its midway point.

VIDEO: FC Edmonton defender to mark 100th match with club – Global News
Albert Watson had a rocky start with FC Edmonton four years ago. Injury had the defender reconsidering a move across the pond. But since then, he’s been an ironman for the club. The Northern Irishman will play his 100th game with the Eddies Saturday. Quinn Phillips reports.

NASL Fall Week 9 Preview: Road Points Becoming Crucial – Empire of Soccer
The top three teams in the NASL standings are in their positions for one simple reason — they’ve been the best at home. First-place Indy Eleven and the third-place New York Cosmos have yet to be beaten once in front of their home supporters, and second-place FC Edmonton’s only losing effort at home came in week two of the Spring Season.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers bounce to new home – Miami Herald
Just call them the Lauderhill Strikers. On Saturday night, the Fort Lauderdale Strikers will make their debut in their new digs, playing host to the Ottawa Fury at Central Broward Stadium in Lauderhill.

WOMEN’S SOCCER NEWS

Gold Medal preview: Germany, Sweden to battle it out – Equalizer
Germany and, much to many soccer fans chagrin, Sweden, will face off Friday in the gold medal match at the legendary Maracana Stadium in Rio. For the first time in Olympic history and the second all-time in major international tournament history, the final will feature two women coaches at the helm (the other was also Germany-Sweden at the 2003 World Cup).

NWSL: Washington Spirit takes over lead – Soccer America
Ali Krieger became the first U.S. Olympian who returned to action in the NWSL, captaining the Washington Spirit to a 2-1 win at the Houston Dash in their makeup game. Christine Nairn scored both goals for the Spirit, the first on a penalty kick and the second on a shot from 40 yards.

US women’s soccer is totally fed up with Hope Solo – NY Post
While not-really-robbed swimmer Ryan Lochte has since taken the spotlight off Solo’s controversial comments following the US women’s soccer team’s Olympics ouster, in which she called the Swedish team “a bunch of cowards” for the defensive playing style they employed in the quarterfinal, the goalie’s teammates are not letting her live it down.

Golden finale beckons for the hosts, Germany – FIFA
All eyes will be on the Maracana, as Brazil are 90 minutes away from winning a first-ever gold medal in the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament. As if an Olympic gold medal match needed another layer of intrigue, the hosts will have to get past Germany, a nation that defeated Brazil 7-1 in one of the most historic and shocking matches in FIFA World Cup™ history.

Dória dreams of ‘great season’ with OM – Ligue 1
Two years after he first arrived in France, Brazilian defender Dória admits he is hopeful of finally establishing himself in the Olympique de Marseille first team as the southern side prepare to face EA Guingamp this weekend.